Top 10 Saddest Musician Deaths of the 20th Century

The Top Ten
1 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

The way Lennon died was one of the most horrible ways possible. He wasn't battling cancer. He didn't suffer a cardiac arrest. He didn't suffer an overdose of drugs. And he didn't suffer a disease. He was shot. He was only 40 years old. We miss you, Lennon!

Not only was he shot, which is one of the scariest and most disturbing ways to go, he was killed by his own fan.

World changing, phenomenal activist for peace and other worldly musician. Loved him so!

You are beyond loved, admired, Adored and missed!

2 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Before he became a singer he has been in 3 other bands (Ibex, Sour Milk Sea,... read more

Death didn't even stop him. He is basically immortal. RIP Mr. Fahrenheight, you will be remembered by many generations ahead.

Even though he is on top #3 pretty soon he will be on top of the list.

A great leader and a great singer and songwriter.

3 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

Presley died in arguably the most unhealthy way possible. He died of an overdose of drugs and junk food in Memphis, TN. He was only 42 years old.

4 Cliff Burton Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10th 1962 - September 27th 1986) was an American musician, best known as the second bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica, recording three studio albums. He died after the driver of the bands tour bus lost control on a patch of black ice and crashed at the town Dörarp in Sweden whilst promoting Metallica's third album "Master of Puppets" Cliff fell out through a window during the chaos and when the bus rolled over the last time it crushed him.
5 Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1987, he started the grunge band Nirvana, which became one of the most successful bands ever. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his Seattle home in 1994.

He died horribly. His cause of death was that he committed suicide.

Courtney Love is responsible for his death.

6 Harry Chapin Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and producer best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs, who achieved worldwide success in the 1970s and became one of the most popular artists and highest paid performers.
7 Buddy Holly Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was a rising star when a tragic plane crash struck him down at age 22.

During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. ...read more.
8 Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician, and co-founder and leader of the Allman Brothers Band until his death in a motorcycle crash in 1971, when he was 24 years old.
9 Jim Croce James Joseph Croce was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and singles. His songs "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
10 Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. He was born in Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir, Scotland, for 5 years before moving to Melbourne, Australia, with his family in 1952 at the age of six.
The Contenders
11 Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known as Ritchie Valens, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died (aged 17) in a plane crash, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Three albums recorded by him were released posthumously. Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

So sad that he died from a coin toss if he lost we would still have him. R.I.P Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper. The Day The Music Died.

12 Jim Morrison James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, and poet best remembered as the lead singer of the Doors.
13 Richard Manuel Richard George Manuel was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the pianist, regular lead singer, and occasional drummer of The Band.
14 Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix (born November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music". Hendrix is consistently ranked on lists of musicians who died too soon.
15 Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
16 Janis Joplin Janis Joplin (1943-1970) was an American singer who rose to fame as the main singer of acid band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She was known for her eccentric hippie style and psychedelic rock music.

She died just sixteen days after Jimi Hendrix, and like him at the age of 27, making them number 2 and 3 (after Brian Jones) in which will become the infamous "27 club" (it refers to the belief that an unusual number of popular musicians have died at age 27), like Jim Morrisson 1 year later, but it wasn't until the death of Kurt Cobain, about two and a half decades later, that the idea of a "27 Club" began to catch on in public perception. Amy Winehouse, Kristen Pfaff (from Hole), Mia Zapata and many others are sadly also members of this "club"

17 Randy California

The founder and lead guitarist of the band "Spirit", he died a hero saving his 13-year old son from dangerous Hawaiian surf. He also "may", or "may not", have written the first part of "Stairway to Heaven".

18 John Bonham John Henry Bonham was born on May 31, 1948 in Redditch, United Kingdom. Bonham (nicknamed Bonzo) was a professional hard rock drummer who was best known for being the drummer in the band Led Zeppelin. Bonham was also one of the background singers in the band. His drumming is mainly displayed on the tracks "Moby Dick" and "When the Levee Breaks". ...read more.
19 Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul"... read more
20 Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York. Tupac sold over 75 million records worldwide and has been referred to in multiple major publications such as Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music artists of all time. 2Pac was assassinated on September 1996 at the age of 25. ...read more.
21 Selena Quintanilla Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, actress, and fashion designer.

So sad she was murder by Yolanda. And she wanted to have kids.

22 Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot released five solo albums. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.
23 Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch was an American rapper, singer, musician, songwriter, director and film distributor. He was best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys.
24 Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard Carpenter, formed the 1970s duo Carpenters.
25 Eazy E Eric Lynn Wright better known by his stage name "Eazy-E", was an American rapper who performed solo and in the hip hop group N.W.A. He is affectionately called "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap". He was born to Richard and Kathie Wright in Compton, California. On March 26, 1995 Eazy-E dies from complications of AIDS, one month after his diagnosis, at the age of 30.
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